The most important, according to most polls, was the introduction of an unpopular 3% consumption tax law which had been forced through the Diet by Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita despite boycotts by the opposition parties, an act which hurt the LDP's image with the public.

A second issue was the infamous Recruit scandal, which induced the resignation of Takeshita and his cabinet members and left a major stain on the LDP's integrity to the public.

[1] Even more, there was incumbent Prime Minister Sōsuke Uno's sex scandal which had come to light only a month earlier.

The result of all of this negative feeling towards the LDP was an unprecedented victory for the Japan Socialist Party (JSP), roughly doubling its share of the popular vote when compared to the previous House of Councillors election, and being the only major pre-existing party to see a net increase in its share of the popular vote; the other opposition parties, which had more success in the past while the JSP stagnated, saw net decreases in both popular votes as well as seat numbers.

In any event, the JSP would cooperate with the other opposition parties in order to form a majority coalition over a minority LDP, a historical first for the House of Councillors.